Stratford station

Stratford is a major multi-level interchange station serving the town of Stratford and the mixed-use development known as Stratford City, in the London Borough of Newham, East London for London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and Elizabeth line services. National Rail services also operate on the West Anglia Main Line and the Great Eastern Main Line, 4 miles 3 chains (6.5 km) from Liverpool Street.

It is the fifth busiest railway station in Britain, the busiest station in London outside the London station group, and is the busiest station on the London Underground network outside London fare zone 1.

On the London Underground, Stratford is on the Central line between Mile End and Leyton stations. It is also the eastern terminus of the Jubilee line and the next station towards west is West Ham. On the DLR, it is a terminus for some trains and for others it is a through-station between Stratford High Street and Stratford International. On the Overground, it is the terminus of the Mildmay line; on the main line it is served by Elizabeth line stopping services between Paddington and Shenfield and by medium- and longer-distance services operated by Greater Anglia to and from numerous destinations in the East of England. There are also limited off-peak services operated by c2c connecting to the London, Tilbury and Southend line to Shoeburyness.

The station was opened in 1839 by the Eastern Counties Railway. Today it is owned by Network Rail and is in London fare zone 2/3. To distinguish it from Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire it is sometimes referred to as Stratford (London), or as Stratford Regional to differentiate it from Stratford International, which is some 400 yards (370 m) to the north. Stratford served as a key travel hub for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games held in London.

Stratford station was opened on 20 June 1839 by the Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) with the first station building being located on Angel Lane which crossed the line on an over-bridge to the east of the station. The Northern and Eastern Railway opened a section of its authorised line from Broxbourne to join the ECR at Stratford on 15 September 1840. As well as a station, a railway works was built adjacent to the line to Broxbourne. This and the engine shed later expanded into the area to the west of the station which is now occupied by a shopping centre and Stratford International station.

The ECR tracks were originally set to a gauge of 5 ft (1,524 mm) on the recommendation of engineer John Braithwaite. At this time there was no legislation dictating the choice of gauge and indeed the directors favoured the Great Western Railway's broad gauge 7 ft (2,134 mm). Braithwaite persuaded the directors otherwise on the grounds of additional cost but recommended the 5 ft gauge in an effort to reduce wear on locomotive parts. This choice meant that the Northern & Eastern Railway who were planning to share the ECR line between Stratford and Bishopsgate were forced to adopt the same gauge.

With the extension of the ECR in the early 1840s it became apparent that standard gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) was a more realistic choice and subsequently between September and October 1844 the gauge conversion was carried out. At the same time the associated Northern & Eastern Railway was also converted.

New station buildings were built in 1847 replacing the original structure on Angel Road. These were located in the V between the Cambridge and Colchester lines and access was via Station Road.